External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to raise the killing of three Indian sailors in US attacks on ships in the Gulf of Oman, and asserted that “lethal measures” against merchant ships were not justified.
According to a statement issued by the US State Department regarding Friday’s conversation between the two leaders, Rubio stressed that commercial ships must comply with orders from US forces, and that violations of the US blockade of Iranian ports “will not be tolerated.”
Jaishankar and Rubio spoke hours after the Ministry of External Affairs summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks for the second time in three days to protest US attacks on merchant ships carrying Indian crew members. The American attack on Mount Setibelo on 9 June resulted in the deaths of three Indian sailors.
“I spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about this [Friday] evening. “I reiterated India’s strong protest against the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that resulted in the killing of three Indian sailors,” Jaishankar said in a brief social media post early on Saturday morning.
“Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified,” he added, reiterating New Delhi’s message that commercial ships should not be targeted.
The brief reading of the conversation issued by US State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott did not acknowledge India’s concerns or the deaths of the Indian sailors. She stressed American efforts to impose the blockade on Iranian ports and work against ships that try to break it.
Piggott said the two leaders discussed “recent events in the Strait of Hormuz,” and said Rubio “stressed that all commercial vessels must immediately comply with orders from U.S. forces as they seek to maintain peace and security in the Strait.”
Rubio also stressed that “violations of the US blockade and the illicit transfer of Iranian oil will not be tolerated.”
US forces targeted three foreign-flagged commercial ships with Indian crew on board off the coast of Oman this week, killing three Indian sailors and sparking public outrage in the country. The Omani Armed Forces rescued more than 60 Indian crew members on board the three ships.
On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs summoned Meeks – who is acting US Ambassador Sergio Gore outside the country – for the second time since Wednesday, and Additional Secretary (Americas) Nagaraj Naidu registered a strong protest against the ongoing US attacks on merchant ships with Indian crew members.
“A strong protest was lodged with [Meeks] “With regard to the ongoing attacks by the US Navy on commercial vessels carrying Indian sailors in the Gulf of Oman, which have already resulted in the tragic and avoidable loss of the lives of three Indians,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Indian side once again expressed its deep concern over the “use of lethal and lethal force” against civilian ships. The statement added, “Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime trade in a sensitive region at a difficult time.”
Meeks was asked to convey India’s “strong concerns to his authorities and ensure that US forces operating in the region take all necessary measures to prevent loss of civilian lives.”
Meeks was summoned to the ministry again a day after US forces targeted the MT Gulliver, a tanker with a 20-member Indian crew, off the Shinas port in Oman on Thursday.
US Central Command said it took action to “disable” three ships this week – the MT Marivex on June 8, the MT Settebello on June 9, and the MT Jalveer on June 11 – because they were trying to violate the US blockade of Iranian ports. An American fighter plane fired two Hellfire missiles at Gulliver’s engine room to disable it.
None of the three ships were Indian-flagged – Marivex and Settebello were Palau-flagged while Jalveer was Guinea-Bissau-flagged – but all members of the crew were Indian.
Three crew members of the Indian vessel Settebello, who were reported missing, were confirmed dead on Thursday, hours after US forces struck the Gulliver. Among the dead was Aditya Sharma, a 23-year-old resident of Himachal Pradesh, who was a deck cadet or cadet training to become a licensed ship officer.
